Where It All Started<\/p>\n
I guess this is where the story really starts.<\/p>\n
It was 1984, I was attending Santa Rosa High School, and my first car was our family\u2019s 1973 Triumph TR6 convertible in a gorgeous British Racing Green. Being classically British, it came with the usual collection of electrical and mechanical issues, which meant I regularly found myself working on it.<\/p>\n
I also apparently had a tendency to drive it a little too fast\u2014at least according to the condition of the new Michelin Redline tires.<\/p>\n
Concerned that a TR6 might not be the ideal car for a teenager who loved to drive fast, my mom eventually decided it was time for a change. One day I was told the Triumph was being replaced by a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was white with a dark turquoise interior and, by just about any measure, it was a boat compared with the TR6.<\/p>\n
But I quickly realized the Cutlass had something the Triumph didn’t. It was a great cruiser that just needed a little love.<\/p>\n
Then I started having engine problems, and “a little love” quickly turned into something much bigger.<\/p>\n
I found someone selling a 400-cubic-inch engine from a 1967 Cutlass 442. The engine had its own issues, but I saw the potential and bought it. Around that same time, I had read in *Hot Rod Magazine* about Ed\u2019s Industrial Machine Shop in Santa Rosa. Ed had been building dragster engines for Mindy Fry, who I happened to go to school with, so in my teenage mind the conclusion was obvious: **Ed needed to build an engine for me.**<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s exactly what happened.<\/p>\n
It turns out that in 1985, you could have a full stroker engine built, have your car painted Corvette Yellow, and install an entirely new interior for the grand total of about $11,000. So that\u2019s what I did.<\/p>\n
Yes, I had somehow managed to take the car that was supposed to be the safer replacement for the Triumph and turn it into something probably ten times more dangerous.<\/p>\n
But what a fun car it became.<\/p>\n
I built the Cutlass at my dad\u2019s house, working on it during weekends. Looking back, that car was much more than a high-school hot rod. It was my first real introduction to working on cars, restoring them, solving problems, and building something that was uniquely mine.<\/p>\n
**That 1967 Cutlass was really where my passion for restoration and hot rods began.**<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":127,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_ncr_car_year":"1967","_ncr_car_make":"Oldsmobile","_ncr_car_model":"Cutlass","_ncr_car_engine":"400 ci","_ncr_car_transmission":"2 speed Turbo Hydromatic","_ncr_car_status":"","_ncr_car_scope_summary":"This is where the story really starts.\n\nIt was 1984, I was attending Santa Rosa High School, and my first car was our family\u2019s 1973 Triumph TR6 convertible in a gorgeous British Racing Green. Being classically British, it came with the usual collection of electrical and mechanical issues, which meant I regularly found myself working on it.\n\nI also apparently had a tendency to drive it a little too fast\u2014at least according to the condition of the new Michelin Redline tires.\n\nConcerned that a TR6 might not be the ideal car for a teenager who loved to drive fast, my mom eventually decided it was time for a change. One day I was told the Triumph was being replaced by a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It was white with a dark turquoise interior and, by just about any measure, it was a boat compared with the TR6.\n\nBut I quickly realized the Cutlass had something the Triumph didn't. It was a great cruiser that just needed a little love.\n\nThen I started having engine problems, and \"a little love\" quickly turned into something much bigger.\n\nI found someone selling a 400-cubic-inch engine from a 1967 Cutlass 442. The engine had its own issues, but I saw the potential and bought it. Around that same time, I had read in *Hot Rod Magazine* about Ed\u2019s Industrial Machine Shop in Santa Rosa. Ed had been building dragster engines for Mendy Fry, who I happened to go to school with, so in my teenage mind the conclusion was obvious: **Ed needed to build an engine for me.**\n\nAnd that\u2019s exactly what happened.\n\nIt turns out that in 1985, you could have a full stroker engine built, have your car painted Corvette Yellow, and install an entirely new interior for the grand total of about $11,000. So that\u2019s what I did.\n\nYes, I had somehow managed to take the car that was supposed to be the safer replacement for the Triumph and turn it into something probably ten times more dangerous.\n\nBut what a fun car it became.\n\nI built the Cutlass at my dad\u2019s house, working on it during weekends. Looking back, that car was much more than a high-school hot rod. It was my first real introduction to working on cars, restoring them, solving problems, and building something that was uniquely mine.\n\n**That 1967 Cutlass was really where my passion for restoration and hot rods began.**","_ncr_scope_body":"","_ncr_scope_mechanical":"Full engine rebuild, ported and polished heads","_ncr_scope_electrical":"","_ncr_scope_chassis":"","_ncr_scope_interior":"Full interior replacement with Vinyl dye on interior components.","_ncr_scope_fabrication":"","_ncr_scope_detailing":"","_ncr_scope_other":"","_ncr_car_work":""},"class_list":["post-126","customer_car","type-customer_car","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246.png",884,607,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246-300x206.png",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246-768x527.png",768,527,true],"large":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246.png",884,607,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246.png",884,607,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/hp_scanDS_742412264246.png",884,607,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/?author=0"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Where It All Started I guess this is where the story really starts. It was 1984, I was attending Santa Rosa High School, and my first car was our family\u2019s 1973 Triumph TR6 convertible in a gorgeous British Racing Green. Being classically British, it came with the usual collection of electrical and mechanical issues, which…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/customer_car\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/customer_car"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/customer_car"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/napaclassicrestos.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}